ABL: Beat the Heat - Patriots bounce back with win over Saigon

The AirAsia Philippine Patriots cooled off the Saigon Heat, 76-62, despite being outrebounded in Wednesday night’s ASEAN Basketball League action at the Ynares Sports Arena. The Patriots romped to a 3-1 win-loss card even as they were outworked on the boards, 44-34. “We were lucky to have this win even though Saigon had a lot of rebounds. It’s good for us as it goes to show that we can’t be complacent against any team,” said Patriots coach Glenn Capacio. The experience could come in handy as the Patriots play the Westport Malaysia Dragons, the early league leader this season, on Sunday. Anthony Johnson finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Nakiea Miller had 20 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Jonathan Fernandez added 12 points including a three-of-five clip from three-point range and Al Vergara notched 10 points and seven assists. The Patriots surged early as Fernandez nailed two three-pointers to give the Patriots a 21-9 lead, but the Heat came back in the second quarter decreasing the Patriots gap to five points, 35-30. Saigon finally tied the game on a Julius Hodge conversion, 42-42, but Miller quickly gave the Patriots the upperhand with a three-point play. Miller, last year’s league Best Import, converted a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 57-45 advantage. John Smith, a Filipino-American who played for Junior Powerade in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup, hit a triple to decrease the Patriots lead to 65-60, but that was the last time the Heat closed in. Hodge had 26 points for the Heat and Jonathan Jones chipped in 21 markers. The two imports had little support from the other players, as their supporting combined for only 15 points. - AMD, GMA News The scores: AirAsia Philippine Patriots (76) — Johnson 23, Miller 20, Fernandez 12, Vergara 10, Rodriguez 5, Larong 4, Arellano 2, Laure 2, Ybanez 0, Wainwright 0, Saldua 0, Raymundo 0. Saigon (62) — Hodge 26, Jones 21, Smith 6, Minh 6, Sophoeun 3, Duong 0, Capati 0, Tung 0, Son 0, Tung 0. Quarter scores: 21-9; 35-30; 57-45; 76-62.